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DARPA tests tank battleship prototype

August 22, 2012

Looks like someone at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) got into the box of old issues of Modern Mechanix tucked away in their grandpa's attic. That's the only way we can explain the cool-but-outrageous Captive Air Amphibious Transporter (CAAT) shown above.

We figure the low-resolution video is part of a DARPA effort to keep details of the contraption out of enemy hands. The aquatic CAAT is impressive enough as-is, but the project becomes a lot more interesting once you realize that the vehicle shown in the video is a one-fifth scale model of the real thing.

Below, the obvious inspiration:

DARPA is making the wacky, sci-fi concepts found in Modern Mechanix magazines a reality...sort of.

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
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